The worst-kept secret of the draft...Boston gets a player that's already won a gold medal and a national title in her short career

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2

Chicago

Megan Rapinoe

M

Portland

Great playmaker...2008 WCC Player of the Year after a pair of injury-plagued seasons

.

3

FC Gold Pride

Christina DiMartino

M

UCLA

A West Coast player stays out West...six goals and six assists for the Bruins in yet another Final Four season

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4

Sky Blue FC

Yael Averbuch

F

North Carolina

Easy pick for Sky Blue...a highly touted player that's a native of the Garden State

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5

LA Sol

Brittany Bock

F

Notre Dame

Limited by injuries in 2008...BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year in 2007

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6

St. Louis

Kerri Hanks

F

Notre Dame

The run of the Irish continues...two-time Hermann Trophy winner is as pure a goalscorer as there is in this draft

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7

Washington

Allie Long

M

North Carolina

Midfield general who distinguished herself at both Penn State and North Carolina...six goals and eight assists last year for champs

.

8

Washington

Alex Singer

D

Virginia

The Freedom continue their trend from previous drafts of taking their former W-League players...Singer played as a wingback for the Cavs

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9

St. Louis

Kia McNeill

F/D

Boston College

First player selected that's not coming directly from college...scored 23 goals as a forward from '04 to '06 before moving to backline as a senior in '07

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10

LA Sol

Allison Falk

D

Stanford

Great size at six feet even...started all 90 matches in her career for the Cardinal

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11

Sky Blue FC

Meghan Schnur

M

UConn

Superb midfielder...another player who has been out of the college game for a year

.

12

FC Gold Pride

Carrie Dew

D

Notre Dame

The backbone of the Irish backline...two-time BIG EAST Defender of the Year

.

13

Chicago

Nikki Krzysik

D

Virginia

Part of the best center back pairing I ever saw in college, along with Becky Sauerbrunn...will nicely fill the hole left by Markgraf's maternity leave

.

14

Chicago (from BOS)

Brittany Klein

M

Santa Clara

Another player that's been out of college for a year...scored seven goals as a senior in '07

.

15

Boston

Kasey Moore

D

Texas

Tremendous get for Boston...Moore was a first-round pick on several projections. Also led Longhorns in scoring as a senior (6 G, 4 A)

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16

Chicago

Natalie Spilger

D

Stanford

Our first player selected from the "lost generation" between WUSA and WPS...Spilger starred at Stanford from '00-'03

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17

FC Gold Pride

Tiffany Weimer

F

Penn State

Nose for goal (and the distinctive headband) make Weimer one of my early favorites to lead the league in scoring...outstanding career at Penn State (91 goals, 9th in NCAA history)

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18

Sky Blue FC

Karen Bardsley

GK

Cal State Fullerton

First goalkeeper selected...has played with England at youth level..also threw javelin in college

.

19

LA Sol

Katie Larkin

F

BYU

Eleven goals as a senior...her, Marta, and Bock on the same front line? Look out.

.

20

St. Louis

Stephanie Logterman

D

Texas

From Stephanie's UT profile: "The song I never want to hear again is: "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry." Amen, Stephanie. Amen. Another member of the sterling Longhorn backline who got forward enough to score four goals in '08

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21

St. Louis (from WAS)

Elise Weber

D

Notre Dame

Great left back for the Irish (and for Wisconsin before that)...could this mean that Chalupny's going to play midfield in the Arch City?

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22

Washington

Jill Gilbeau

D/M

Texas

A defender from....Texas? You don't say! Played more minutes than any Longhorn field player save Moore in '08...also a Freedom W-League alum

.

23

Washington (from STL)

Parrissa Eyorokon

F

Purdue

Twelve goals and six assists for the Boilermakers' best-ever team in '07 as a senior...speed should provide nice foil to Wambach's aerial prowess

.

24

LA Sol

Greer Barnes

D

West Virginia

All-American at left back for the Gold and Blue the past two seasons...gets forward very well...powerful on the ball

.

25

Sky Blue FC

Christie Shaner

D

Notre Dame

Played both in the middle and on the left for Randy Waldrum from '03-'06

.

26

FC Gold Pride

Marisa Abegg

D

Stanford

Natural fit for both sides...maybe the best player still available gets to stay in the Bay Area...led Stanford to Final Four and in minutes played

.

27

Chicago

Jen Branam

GK

North Carolina

At least one prognosticator had Branam as the sleeper of the draft...experience with national team and in the WUSA

.

28

Chicago (from BOS)

Chioma Igwe

D

Santa Clara

The run on defensive players continues...made 70 starts between Santa Clara and Cal....younger brother Amaechi plays in MLS

.

29

Boston

Jenny Nobis

F

Missouri

Nice senior year in '05 for Mizzou (8 G, 14 A)...has played in the WPSL and Germany

25 G, 18 A at UF...seventh in school history in scoring...SoccerAmerica MVP

.

32

Sky Blue FC

Julianne Sitch

M

DePaul

Experience in W-League with Chicago and FC Indiana...All-American at DePaul

.

33

LA Sol

Val Henderson

GK

UCLA

Outstanding GK for Bruins from '04-'07...went to U-20 World Cup in '06...eight shutouts and 20 wins as a senior...2008 W-League Outstanding GK

.

34

St. Louis

Niki Cross

D

UConn

Great presence in center of defense...WPSL experience with Connecticut

.

35

Washington

Briana Scurry

GK

UMass

Well...what is there to say about Briana Scurry? Multiple World Cups, made The Save in the '99 WWC penalty shoot-out, started over Hope Solo in the '07 WWC semifinals...ehh. Not much there.

.

36

Washington

Rebecca Moros

M

Duke

W-League and WPSL experience...20 career assists, including 11 as a sophomore

.

37

St. Louis

Jillian Loyden

GK

Villanova

Interesting pick with Solo already in tow...but I love Loyden's game. Commands the box, great shot-stopper, one of the best 'keepers I've seen at the college level

.

38

LA Sol

Katie Hooker

M

Denver

Formerly Katie Antongiovanni....has WUSA and W-League experience...literally a coach on the field, with six years under her belt as an assistant at Denver

.

39

Sky Blue FC

Jen Buczkowski

M

Notre Dame

Three-time All-American at Notre Dame from '03 to '06...could be a steal this low in the draft

.

40

FC Gold Pride

Leigh Ann Robinson

M

San Diego

Both a scorer and a provider for the Toreros from '04-'07, tallying 14 G and 14 A as a junior and senior

.

41

Boston (from CHI)

Kelly Schmedes

F

Texas

Formerly Kelly Wilson; I've seen her play at both the college level and the W-League level (with Charlotte) and am a big fan of her game; is a top-notch passer as well as finisher; she's also been capped by the USWNT. Absolute steal.

.

42

Boston

Ariel Harris

D

North Carolina

Great speed...played left back for the Heels...also can get forward, as evidenced by four assists as a senior

.

43

Boston

Lindsay Vera

F

NC State

Another impressive player I got to see in the W-League this season...had a strong senior year for the Wolfpack with nine goals and six assists...two-year captain

.

44

Chicago

Lauren Sesselmann

F

Purdue

Good complement for the star-studded midfield Chicago has already assembled...34 career goals at Purdue, despite an injury that forced her to sit out the 2004 season

.

45

FC Gold Pride

Brandi Chastain

D

Cal

Since Chastain was the face of the CyberRays, you had to figure that their Bay Area descendant would be the team that would take a chance on the 40-year-old legend having something left in the tank

.

46

Sky Blue FC

Ouying Zhang

F

China

Olympics and World Cup experience...former captain of national team...played in WUSA for San Diego

.

47

LA Sol

McCall Zerboni

M

UCLA

7 G, 6 A for Bruins in '08...has youth national team experience

.

48

St. Louis

Lisa Stoia

M

West Virginia

All-American center mid at WVU from '00-'03...has been an assistant at WVU for two years, and at Jacksonville before that...also W-League experience with Boston...very capable scorer and world-class passer

.

49

Washington

Sarah Senty

D

Virginia

Nine assists with UVA while playing a key part in one of the nation's best defenses...another Freedom W-League alum brought up to the big leagues

.

50

Washington

Kati Jo Spisak

GK

Texas A&M

Another former W-Leaguer retained by Gabarra...made 96 starts for the Aggies...posted 24 shutouts

.

51

St. Louis

Megan Kerns

F

Florida

Scored 13 goals (five of the game-winning variety) to lead Gators in '08

.

52

LA Sol

Brittany Cameron

GK

San Diego

Posted nine shutouts in '08 for the Toreros

.

53

Sky Blue FC

Mary Therese McDonnell

D

Illinois

Started 61 matches for Illini from '04-'07...also experience in W-League with Boston

.

54

FC Gold Pride

Allison Whitworth

GK

Auburn

W-League experience with Atlanta...eight shutouts in 2008 for Auburn

.

55

Chicago

Kat Tarr

D

Missouri

Started all 23 games as a senior, logging over 2000 minutes...probably my favorite name of the draft so far

.

56

Boston

Ashley Nick

M

Southern Cal

Another Trojan to go with A-Rod...saw her in the '07 NCAAs and was impressed with her abilities as a passer and possessor of the ball

.

57

Boston

Allison Martino

M

Texas A&M

Three goals and seven assists for A&M as a senior in '07...played with Boston in the W-League, so an easy scout for DiCicco